It is said that the Filipino is born in piña, married in piña, and buried in piña. Piña, of course, is the quintessential fabric derived from the leaves of the otherwise common pineapple plant. But for making textile, only the long leaf red pineapple variety is suitable for extracting the silky, sinewy fiber. Ms. Patis Tesoro, who graced the launching of The Hinabi Project at the Philippine Consul General’s San Francisco residence on June 19, described the arduous process of piña...